Digital communications has truly made a lot of life's tasks easier and wedding planning is definitely one of them.
I'm getting married this year in July and after getting engaged last April, I've been furiously planning nonstop.
Sure, that sounds like every other bride-to-be doesn't it?
Did I mention that I'm getting married twice within one week, once in Toronto, Canada and a week later in Munich, Germany? I've also been living in the UK, specifically Bristol, since last August.
Planning two ceremonies and receptions on two entirely different continents while living in neither of those continents would be near impossible if it wasn't for the internet, social media and everything in between.
Wedding industry experts are saying that using social media and the internet is the best thing right now to make the most of your time, energy and money.
Any vendors worth looking into are on Facebook and/or Twitter and it makes asking those pertinent questions so much easier, no matter the distance between.
Online forums on sites such as The Knot and Martha Stewart Weddings are indispensable when you want to get opinions and advice from other internet-savvy brides. Although The Knot can be quite scary as some of the people on the forum aren't engaged or married, or even in relationships!
Blogs are great to gain inspiration, get in touch with vendors (a lot of the bloggers are actually wedding photographers, event planners, designers etc.) or just for when you want to escape in some absolutely gorgeous photos of perfect weddings. Some of my favorites are: Style Me Pretty, 100 Layer Cake and Kiss the Groom.
My fiancé and I have also created our own wedding blogs (one in English and one in German) so the guests can access all they need to know at their own convenience. In turn it cuts down paper costs as maps, directions and hotel information (things that used to come with the invitations) can be easily posted and archived online.
Google Docs has also been an amazing tool to help get us organised. Search "wedding templates collection" and there are tons of spreadsheets available to download and use. They are also rated by others so you can see which ones are worth using.
I really don't know what I would have done if there weren't so many great tools at my disposal to help with the whole planning process. Perhaps eloping to Vegas would have been our only option...
Photo courtesy of artgyrl
5 comments:
Congratulations! I got engaged last April too, but am waiting until 2012 to go down the aisle. However, it hasn't stopped me from researching the many websites that are out there for us brides-to-be! I'm getting married in Northern Ireland and a lot of the wedding photographers showcase their past work on blogs. There are usually comments on the blog from the couples who have used their services.
I've also noticed that Facebook, because my status is "engaged" some of the advert banners are wedding related - quizzes to win £5,000 dress, honeymoon etc...
There is a wedding website called confetti.com where brides-to-be comment on wedding venues, caterers and DJs.
Good luck with the rest of the planning!
Thanks Clare! :)
Congratulations on your engagement as well!
I've noticed that change on Facebook as well. I have yet to click on any of the advert banners. Have you found them useful?
I'll check out confetti.com, thanks for the tip!
If you ever want to chat wedding planning, let me know! :)
Congratulations Sabrina! Wow, two separate weddings in two different countries; while working on your Master's degree. Are you working as well? Yikes. It brings me back to those wedding planning days as I got married in 2006. I shudder at the thought of all those details however I too found online references and tools very helpful, even if a little over the top at times. I would imagine that for your situation, being at distance from vendors, sites, and people, the online community would make a world of difference for you.
Your experience is further softening my dislike for online community - you are a perfect example of when and how technology is positively impacting people and bringing them together rather than splitting them apart.
I have every faith that you will have a lovely wedding(s) because if anyone can handle it and all the details, it's us PR gals.
I'll try Tweeting you some links if I can find them all again.
All the best, Nadia
Thanks Nadia for the kind words and for your comment on my post!
Wedding planning, the Master's degree plus a part-time internship doing comms work for a registered charity is definitely keeping me busy! :)
It's true that there is an absolute plethora of online tools and sites dedicated to the one purpose of weddings and it can be quite exhausting wading through them all so any links that you can find would be great! Thanks!
I definitely agree with you that in this instance, digital communications is something so wonderful as we're able to inform and get in touch with family and friends who we would love to celebrate with on our special day, no matter the geographical location.
Dear Sabrina,
As we are in the middle of July, I am wondering if you are working on the last details or if you have already got married ....in any case Congratulations!!! Its great to read your post as most of our co - students entries although interesting are much more business oriented. I got married in 2006 and I can say that new technological developments helped me a lot as well. Although I like Style Me Pretty, my favorite is for sure Martha Steward site / blogs etc. It was a really valuable and cost-free source of information such as vendors, lists but most importantly ideas about decoration, f&b options and effective organising. Since then I have kept a complete record - a very helpful database for my business, family and friends events. Once more All The Best!
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